VALKYRIE
by Kansas Scout
Summary: A secret mission after Anubis' attack on Earth brings Earth in contact with the Colonials.
1. Chapter 1

VALKYRIE

By

D L Hemmingway

Author's Note: This is a rewrite. After a recent review of this storyline I decided to rework it as a totally new story. It will cross with BSG: 2003 at some point that storyline will merge into the main one. The primary storyline will be a cross between the Interstellar Wars timeline of the Traveller Game and the Stargate timeline. For the purposes of this story all events after the Lost City Arc of Stargate: SG-1 will be alternative history for the SG timeline. All dates will be Earth Dates for convenience and simplicity. As for Alternative History the timeline of BSG: 2003 history is moved up to coincide with the Stargate History.

I pondered over how to put this idea into a story. I was inspired by THE 13th TRIBE and SG13 THE Cylon WAR by Darth Master Rassilon Davros and Shadow XV. I decided that I liked my TRAVELLER crossover with STARGATE: SG-1 and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER concept, but this one will not have any of the additional crossovers or even the BtVS connection. This one is purely TRAVELLER, STARGATE: SG 1 and Battlestar GALACTICA (TRS/ 2003.) TRAVELLER is the intellectual property of Marc Miller. STARGATE: SG-1 is the intellectual property of Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright based on the movie STARGATE produced by Roland Emmerich. Battlestar GALACTICA: 2003 and its prequels are the intellectual property of Ronald D. Moore with collaboration from Remi Aubuchon and David Eick on CAPRICA and with David Eick and Michael Taylor being the Executive Producers of BLOOD AND CHROME.

All stellar locations will be using the Traveller location description: Planet Name/ Subsector name – grid location. Dates will be date-month-year with the date and year being in numeric entry and the month's name. Dates in the Colonies will be Before Cylon Holocaust or After Cylon Holocaust.

Chapter One

EARTH (TERRA)/ SOL-1827 09 January 2009

Two bright blue-white flashes of light appeared just beyond the orbit of Luna. When the light faded two ships looking like alligator headed whales with outrigger pontoons appeared. Both ships looked as if they had already been through major battles with burn marks and blast holes in their outer armored skins. At first glance they looked as if they were dead in space. That was only just an illusion.

COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER (CIC) COLONIAL BATTLESTAR VALKYRIE

Commander Timothy Simpson looked over at the Jump Officer and shouted, "Are we where we're supposed to be?"

The younger officer looked back at his commanding officer and shaking his head in the affirmative said, "Yes sir, we've exited the last jump right where your coordinates should have put us." He looked at his jump sensors and then added, "We are outside the orbit of the third planet's moon." Then the proximity alarms started going off.

"Tactical what is it?" yelled CMDR Simpson and he looked up at the DRADIS screen. He saw the representation of his original homeworld, but there were multiple contacts around the planet like they were blockading it or bombarding it. "What do we have Tactical; I need answers?"

Lieutenant Samantha Graystone looked up from her workstation's screen and said, "We have a very large ship in orbit over the planet. From the DRADIS readings the ship is bigger than a MERCURY-Class Battlestar. I am also detecting a city-sized station below the ship engaging it with some kind of ship to ship missile I can't identify. There are multiple Viper sized fighters in the air space above and in the atmosphere of the planet. Also there are multiple Raider sized fighters engaging the enemy fighters both in space and the atmosphere. I am detecting a smaller Gunstar analog drifting currently with several life signs still aboard. The power systems are failing. The Yashuman is along side us about three thousand kilometers port and five hundred below our position and twelve hundred aft."

Simpson nodded as he took in that information. Looking then over to the LSO, "LSO did we recover any of our birds?"

Captain Samuel Grant looked at his board and said, "We recovered all but five sir!" He looked again as his status board and added, "We lost a couple of dozen back a few months ago Vipers over New Caprica during the Cylon attack and along the way we've lost about a dozen. We lost these fine during that last attack on us six jumps ago, otherwise we have a compliment of thirty Vipers and twenty Raptors, sir."

Lieutenant Sharon Valens looked up from the Communications Station and said, "Sir YASHUMAN Actual reports that all his remaining Vipers and Raptors are ready and the YASHUMAN came out of the last jump without any trouble. We have lost the Gunstar HERCULES though. Its sub-light drives blew once it came out of jumps initiating a runaway tylium fire that consumed all the fuel bunkers sir."

"How many ships are answering hails?" Simpson asked suddenly feeling the weight of his position. Until last month Timothy Simpson former commander Stargate Team SG-13 and CAG (Commander Air Group) GALACTICA had been the VALKYRIE's Executive Officer or XO. During the Battle of New Caprica Commander Nash was killed along with half his original compliment of Vipers and Raptors.

The Communications Officer looked at her board then shouted back, "We have just the YASHUMAN responding sir!" The YASHUMAN and the Gunstar HERCULES came with him as the GALACTICA and the Fleet stayed behind in the Alpha Centauri Beta system in case they needed another evacuation. They had found a small green world where they could rest and refit before continuing their journey spinward towards a location that Simpson had only told Commander Gillian Gant of the YASHUMAN and Admiral William Adama of the CMS (Colonial Marinestar) GALACTICA, EARTH.

Before the Cylon nukes impacted upon this ship and the YASHUMAN Nash had his XO at the time and the rest of the Damage Control team shutdown the ship's network and then because the Jump Officer was incapacitated then Colonel Simpson went over to the jump controls and had the Communications Specialist on duty send the coordinates he input into the jump computer to the YASHUMAN. Both ships jumped out of their doomed position only to wind up at their system's Solar North or above the gravitational point that both the Cyrannus Alpha and Cyrannus Beta binary systems orbited.

That was over two years ago. Now here Simpson was looking down at his native world under attack and trying not to zone back to that day over Antarctica. It was 19 March 2004. Shortly after that he was promoted to Major in the United States Marine Corps and then to full-bird Colonel. That was his last American or Earth promotion prior to being let off in the Colonies by Thor. The team spent three years in the Colonies before the Second Cylon War went the way it did. The war which started two years after their arrival in the Colonies entered a phase of stalemate. Then on 8 December and 9 December of 2007 by Earth's calendar the Cylons struck with a vengeance. In two days they destroyed much of the Colonial Fleet and nuked all twelve planets forcing the survivors to seek out refuge in the stars.

Simpson had been in the fly-by of the GALACTICA during the rechristening ceremony when the Cylons attacked. The attack did not occur during the ceremony, but shortly after Major Jack "Dipper" Spencer led VFA 2 in escorting Colonial Heavy 798 carrying the Secretary of Education Laura Roslin and Secretary of Defense Carlton the Cylons in Starfish shaped Basestars attacked the home systems of the Colonies.

That had been a long two years ago and now Simpson was faced with his homeworld being attacked and possibly destroyed by an unknown enemy with only the two Pocket Battlestars VALKYRIE and YASHUMAN to use as his swords. "Comms patch me through to this frequency!" he yelled out and then rattled off a series of numbers that would get him STARGATE COMMAND. LT Valens looked up after completing the connection saying, "Commander I have STARGATE COMMAND on the horn." Simpson nodded and said, "STARGATE COMMAND, Commander Timothy Simpson BATTLESTAR VALKYRIE commanding to you copy over?"

STARGATE COMMAND CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AFB, COLORADO

Command Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman was with General Jack O'Neill and Major General Hank Landry in the Stargate Operations Room overlooking the Stargate when the radio began to crackle through the jamming from the Wraith Super Hive Ship. The Air Force Technical Sergeant working the communications station was having trouble getting the signal to come in. So Harriman took the initiative and took over the controls and managed to get the signal.

Once CCM Harriman got it correctly adjusted and the signal coming in a voice speaking something like Greek came over the speakers just before the Asgard based translation matrix took over and translated the message into English. "Stargate Command, Commander Timothy Simpson BATTLESTAR VALKYRIE commanding, do you copy, over?" Gen O'Neill and Maj G Landry looked up at the speakers. O'Neill was hearing a voice he hadn't heard in years. "Timothy is that you KAGE?"

BATTLESTAR VALKYRIE CIC:

"General O'Neill, VALKYRIE Actual, yes it's me Jack. Looks like we're back in the fire down there. Could you use some more birds?" Simpson looked up at the speakers over the VALKYRIE's tactical plot table while he used the handset of the M1C at his station like a hand microphone. The voice of his old commanding officer came back over the speakers in English and Timothy found himself translating for the CIC crew.

"He says yes we need all the help we can get. The Battlecruisers DAEDALUS, ODYSSEY, and the Alteran CITY SHIP ATLANTIS are low on munitions. There is a Marine strike group on the Wraith Super Hive Ship trying to rescue some personnel trying to sabotage it. Also most of their F/A 302 Starfighter and F/A 40 War Hawk fighters are either shot down or at bingo and skoash for fuel and ammo. The same goes for most of Earth's atmospheric fighters. The dart like fighters are Wrath Darts which are dealing serious damage below. YASHUMAN, VALKYRIE Actual launch ready VIPERS! LSO, Launch our ready VIPERS too!"

Then Simpson returned to his conversation with Gen O'Neill, "HOMEWORLD ACTUAL, VALKYRIE ACTUAL we're sending what we can! The Cavalry be it as it may has arrived!" Then he turned to the LSO again and said, "Launch a RAPTOR back to GALACTICA let the ADMIRAL know we need help here."

COMMAND BRIDGE TERRAN COMMONWEALTH BATTLE CRUISER MAJESTIC IMPERIAL RECKONING 257-1115 PROMETHEUS/ SOL FIVE YEARS PRIOR TO PRESENT

Imperial Navy Captain Tomas Sanchez seeing that a disaster was befalling the Imperium as something began to overtake the computers of his neighboring ships ordered a combat jump to escape a debacle of galactic proportions. Every ship that became infected with the computer Virus released by a rogue element of the Imperial Regency Intelligence Service soon turned on its human crew and or began to fire upon ships that were yet uninfected.

Seconds mattered. An error in judgement would cost the over 5000 crewmen of the MAJESTIC their lives. Capt. Sanchez began to calculate the jump they needed to escape being fried by a rogue ship's meson cannon. "Mister Shampezim, see to it that the network is disabled! I am figuring the jump on my wristcomp and then entering it into the Jump Drive's controller. Jump to it, Hank!"

Lieutenant Commander Enri Shampezim was of mixed Vilani and Solomani ethnicity. He was born on Lagash in the Sol Subsector of the Solomani Rim Sector. His ancestors collaborated with the Terrans during the early Interstellar wars and over time his family intermarried with the Terrans. Enri was the Vilanification of Henry so it was often that Capt. Sanchez and other officers called him "Hank." He didn't mind as Enri identified more with Terra the capital of the re-born Terran Commonwealth than he did Vland all so far coreward within the Empire.

Lt. Cmdr. Shampezim rushed over to the Computer Control Station and began shutting down the network before the rogue virus got to the MAJESTIC. He even shut down the ship's AI in the process. The AI or Artificial Intelligence was the personae of the system that linked the ship's main computers and over saw most of the ship's functions. The AI was named Alice and Alice was miffed to be turned off, but Shampezim explained, "Alice I have to disconnect network from the transponder unit. There is a very hostile virus infecting the computers of all our ships. So far we're not infected, but it won't take long before we are severely fucked!"

"Why are you disconnecting my complete network then?" Alice asked seeing that Enri was indeed doing more than just shutting down the computer's connection to the Communication Arrays. Enri just looked at the holographic image of the ship's computer. She always presented herself as a Lieutenant Commander in the Terran Commonwealth Navy, but she could present herself in any number of fashions.

"I have to do this Alice to prevent our ship from being taken over by the Virus that is causing ship's computers to go rampant and kill their crews before attacking uninfected ships of the Commonwealth or even the Imperial Navy. I'm not going to kill you Alice, I'm only disconnecting the network before Virus kills or replaces you." Enri then flipped the last breaker switch that disconnected Alice from the external receivers. He had already disconnected the link between Alice and the other two computers of the ship's network.

"Captain Sanchez sir the network is disconnected and the link to the transponder has been too!" shouted Enri after he flipped the last physical switch. "Alice is a little miffed that we disconnected her from her friends in Gunnery and Engineering, but I think she'll get over it."

"Navigation, plot a course back to Terra! We need to warn them of what's happened ASAP!" Capt. Sanchez shouted as he went back to studying the tactical plot. "Communications tell the other survivors to fall back to Terra! With the deaths of the Commodore and the Rear Admiral, I being senior Captain am taking command of the Battle Group. I am ordering a withdrawal from this star system."

Navigation Officer Lieutenant Commander Julia Thompson complied with the order and had the plotted course transferred via Sneaker Network to the Command Pilot and Executive Officer Commander Olaf Swenson. Cmdr. Swenson had Helmsman's Mate First Class Theresa Morris key it into the jump system and the shouted out, "Going to jump in five… four… three… two… one…Jump!"

In space out around the ship a field developed looking like it was making a bubble of reality around the MAJESTIC. Then the maneuver drives kicked in at full thrust. It looked like the MAJESTIC disappeared in to the bubble before space returned to normal. Unseen by the sensors or even the crew and officers of the MAJESTIC one of the infected ships fired an anti-ship nuclear missile and it exploded within the energy bubble of the jump window. The explosion looked to the other ships to have taken out the MAJESTIC, but what happened was that extra energy affected the jump. MAJESTIC misjumped.

EARTH (TERRA)/ SOL 19 MARCH 2004

STARGATE COMMAND EMBARKATION ROOM

Stargate Command was busy as Dr. Weir was organizing the evacuation to the Alpha Site. Senator Kinsey was down in the Embarkation Room awaiting his turn to go through to the gate. As they waited the lights went out and the current wormhole connection disengaged as the Stargate shut down. Sensing something was very wrong Dr. Elizabeth Weir yells out, "Close the Iris now! Close it!"

Sen. Robert Kinsey sees this and hears Weir's orders to the Embarkation Room Crew. "Keep the gate open I need to get out of here!" he yells as the crew members manually close the trinium and naquadah enhanced titanium iris. An argument with Dr. Weir ensues and she orders the crew member to complete closing the gate.

After the iris is completely closed the Stargate activates with an incoming wormhole. After the wormhole settles there is a bright flash of light and a massive explosion rocks the Gate Room. A technician announces that the weapon was possibly a naquadah enhanced device. Weir rushes back into the Gate Control Room with Kinsey following her trying to continue his argument to let him go through to the Alpha Site.

Once in the Control Room Weir goes up into the briefing room overhead and asks for a line to the President. She is handed a phone by a technician. She informs the President what's going on and telling him about Kinsey's insistence on opening the iris and gating him to safety. The President asks to speak to Kinsey after Weir puts the link on speaker phone. Kinsey tries to further his case for leaving, but the President orders him to shut up. Kinsey even tried to counterman Weir's advice for deploying the Prometheus to protect SG-1 at Antarctica.

ANTARCTICA ANCIENT WEAPONS PLATFORM

As Kinsey, Weir and the President are in their conference call SG-1 arrives over Antarctica and the location of the Ancient Site. Daniel and the rest think it is still the Lost City, Atlantis. Instead after using the ring transporter to drill a hole through the over a mile thick ice they transport into a much smaller facility. The Ancient Knowledge possessed Colonel O'Neill leads his team deeper into the facility where they find a chair and several monitors.

O'Neill finds a hatch on the pedestal the chair sits on, opens it and installs the power source crystal the team found in the ruins on Proclarush. The system instantly lights up and as O'Neill sits in the chair it lights up and reclines. Soon an image of the Galaxy appears. Before any of the rest of the team can say anything O'Neill focuses in on the Solar System and the immediate area around Earth.

Carter recognizes that there are dozens of HA'TAK-Class Mother-ships in orbit along with one really huge ship, Anubis' ship in orbit along with the others. She also sees a strange rippling effect some 120000 kilometers or nearly 80000 miles outward from the assembled Goa'uld fleet. The Goa'uld fleet had already started orbital bombardment of Earth's major cities when from the bubble like effect that replaced the ripples a large starship appeared.

While Carter was watching what O'Neill showed in the facility's holographic display Jackson and Teal'c and a few Rebel Jaffa were busy fending off wave after wave of Kull Warriors, Anubis' Elite Guard. As one group of eight after another ring down Jackson and his troops kill more and more with new bullets and even improved staff weapons designed to defeat Kull armor.

AREA 51

In a hidden underground hangar rest Earth's only starship. The Battle Cruiser Prometheus took most of five years to complete even with the attempted hijacking not long ago. On the Command Bridge of the Prometheus Major General George S Hammond takes the Command Chair. "Everyone you have your orders. I want this bird in the air," he says as he assumes command of the PROMETHEUS.

Major Erin Gant replies, "Yes sir," as she keys in the command sequence that initiates the launch sequence.

Outside in the hangar, the PROMETHEUS' maneuver drives power up, the docking clamps and external power and life support umbilical connections retract, and the overhead doors for the ship's hangar began to open. The back engineered contra-gravity lifters took effect and the PROMETHEUS rose up into the air.

After engaging the maneuver drive the PROMETHEUS shot out to the south towards Antarctica. As the ship sped its way to assist SG-1 the Sensor Officer, an Air Force First Lieutenant called out, "Contacts, multiple fighters entering atmosphere over every continent!" She called out again, "Massive plasma bolt bombardment initiated. The Ha'Taks are targeting every major population center around the world!"

As the PROMETHEUS reached Antarctica Major Cameron "Shaft" Mitchell briefed his squadron the 32nd Fighter Squadron "Wolfhounds" which had been reactivated and equipped with the new F/A 302A Starfighter II two years ago. He went over the situation and their mission. "Ok people as you know the world depends on SG-1 to complete their mission here in Antarctica. SG-1 depends on us to keep the Goa'uld off their backs. You've been training for this these last two years. Ok, Wolfhounds to you planes we're wheels up in five!"

100 miles out from SG-1's location all eight of PROMETHEUS' F/A 302s launch in wing-man pairs. As they take up positions around the PROMETHEUS dozens of Death Gliders begin coming down from the heavens. "This is Wolfhound One to Wolfhounds let's climb and keep those bastards off of SG-1's back!" with that said Shaft climbed with his wing-man cover him from slight to his rear and right. Four pairs of Earths only aerospace fighter took on dozens of flights of invading aerospace fighters.

BRIDGE OF THE PROMETHEUS

"PROMETHEUS Actual to all fighters, you're to keep them busy. We're going after their mother-ships. If you get low on ammo or fuel make it for McMurdo. Hammond, out!" said Hammond after he ordered the PROMETHEUS to an attack run at the orbiting Goa'uld mother-ships.

As the PROMETHEUS climbed Hammond saw the blue change to black through the forward main view port as his ship broke atmosphere. "Major Gant, full military thrust towards that big mother up ahead!"

"Yes sir!" Gant replied as she gives the orders to take the maneuver drive to full thrust. At the weapons station the USAF Captain who was the Weapons Officer was carrying out Hammond's orders after Hammond gave the ship the Weapons Free order.

The PROMETHEUS' twenty four forty millimeter dual purpose railguns in twelve dual mounted turrets began clearing the skies around the ship of Death Gliders as she approached the flagship of Anubis' fleet. As she neared that ship the Goa'uld fire slowly broke through her shields and she began taking hits to her hull. As the damage reports came in about the gun turrets getting silences and her missiles being shot out of the sky before they could reach any Ha'Taks, Hammond ordered the ship to ramming speed.

EARTH

In the United States the Emergency Alert System was activated and all Active and Reserve Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy personnel were to report to their posts or ships. The Air and Army National Guard were activated and many Air National Guard F-16 Falcons rose up to meet the oncoming Death Gliders. In the cities and towns Emergency Management personnel were working to get people into shelters and announcing that the alert sirens going off were not test, but this was a real National Emergency.

In Europe British, French, German, and every other national air force sent their fighters up to meet the incoming Death Gliders. European Emergency Service personnel like their American counter parts were herding shocked citizens into air raid shelters. European armies were activating all their active and reserve personnel. The plasma bolts came raining down as the orders were carried out. Swiss reservist even had to grab their rifles from the homes or the trunks of their cars along with their go bags and field gear.

In the Russian Federation the call up saw millions of men and women reporting to their units and the fire rained down from the heavens. The city militias and police were working with Fire and Ambulance services to get citizens into the underground shelters many of which though maintained both during and after the Cold War had not been used for their intended use since World War Two. The Russian President was broadcasting over the air waves on Television and Radio that this was the Second Great Patriotic War and that all military aged adults not otherwise engaged in strategically necessary occupations were to report to their nearest military units for induction into the Russian Armed Forces. He had instituted universal conscription as he had been visited by a hologram of Anubis around the same time every other leader of the world had been.

The same hurried activation of their militaries and emergency services were seen in China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Mexico, South Africa, and just about every other nation of Earth. All of this was going as the PROMETHEUS was charging toward Anubis' flag ship and her fighters where racking up kill scores and getting smothered by the overwhelming odds facing them.

Out in the Pacific Ocean Carrier Battle Group NIMITZ was engaged in combat against several Death Gliders near the coast of California. As her Tomcats and Hornets were dealing with the Death Gliders a flight of Al'kesh bomber and Tel'Tak transports made their way toward San Diego. NIMITZ had only enough time to warn NAVAL STATION SAN DIEGO that the attack was on its way before a lucky shot from a Death Glider's plasma cannons scored a hit on the NIMITZ's aviation fuel tanks and munitions magazines. Like the ARIZONA at Pearl Harbor in '41 the NIMITZ bucked up out of the water. Her keel cracked in two as her hull split in half by the explosion. When the smoke and fire cleared there was only a widening circle of still water where the mighty aircraft carrier had once been. Like the HMS HOOD during its battle with the KMS BISMARK. the USS NIMITZ died in deep water.

EARTH/ TERRA ORBIT DISTANCE 120000 KILOMETERS OR 80000 MILES

Space roughly 120000 kilometers out from the surface of the Earth over North America rippled and formed something akin to a bubble. Then as the bubble dissipates a starship, 1000 feet long by 250 wide by 200 tall flies out of it.

COMMAND BRIDGE TCS MAJESTIC

It had been a week since they made the jump from Prometheus back to Terra. Capt. Sanchez looks at the main tactical display over the holographic plot table. The sensor sweep shows dozens of ships orbiting Terra and shooting plasma bolts at targets on the surface as a lone Battle Cruise sized ships tries to engage them.

The battle for the lone cruiser is not going well. The MAJESTIC's sensors show the ship was heavily damaged and many of its weapons were off line. Sanchez didn't care about the odds Terra the capital world of the Terran Commonwealth was under attack and the lone cruiser wasn't going to keep this enemy fleet at bay for long.

"Damage Control, I want a report!" Sanchez yelled out as he was already reading the condition of his ship thanks to Alice's network being reconnected after the ship reached Jump Space. The week in J-Space allowed some repairs to be made from inside the ship including purging Virus from any infected systems.

Sanchez listened to the damage report as his Tactical Officer reported that many of Terra's cities were aflame from the plasma bombardment. His ship was battle worthy still, but would need time in space dock before she could make any jumps out of system. The jump drive was fried and they were lucky to make it back to Terra at all. It was the Communications Officer and the Computer Officer who each had the most disturbing reports.

The MAJESTIC was not in her present as both the officers told him. They and the ship were 3632 years in the past. The current year in Imperial Reckoning was -2517 and it was day 091. "Sir, the corresponding local calendar date is 19 March 2004," said Lt. Cmdr. Enri Shampezim as he showed Capt. Sanchez the information on his wrist-comp. "We're as I said over three thousand six hundred years in our past or perhaps a parallel universe. Either way I don't know of a way to get home."

Sanchez had all his senior officers around the tactical plot and he polled them all to see what they wanted to do. It was unanimous as each officer said to defend Terra no matter where or when this Earth was. "Ok gentlemen and ladies, we're about to go to war to defend Earth. What else is new?" He then asked what they had still working. The Chief Engineer said, "Sir we won't be able to jump out of system but the Maneuver Drives can give us a full Two Gs of thrust."

Next the Chief Medical Officer said, "The Sickbay is ready to receive casualties sir."

The Flight Safety Officer said, "The Flight Deck is ready to land, refuel, restock and launch planes sir."

Colonel Wade Masterson the Commander of the 235th Commonwealth Marine Expeditionary Group said, "My Marines are ready to land and render aid on the surface or to board enemy ships and seize them at your command sir."

Major Juanita Gomez the Ship's Security Unit Commander reflected what Col Masterson said and added, "We'll repel any boarders that try to take this ship sir!"

Weapons Officer Lieutenant Commander Philip von Hertz said, "We have our entire batteries ready sir. I can say from these readings no one in this era or universe are ready to deal with a Meson Cannon. The shield of these ships aren't designed to defeat Meson beams. I think we can even the odds for the other cruiser out there. I would recommend that we start this battle soon or there won't be another Terran cruiser to rescue."

The MAJESTIC's Commander Air Group or CAG, Commonwealth Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Patterson told Sanchez that his fighters were ready as were all the assault craft and ship's boats even the AWACS birds."

Sanchez looked sternly at his officers around the Tactical Plot and said, "You have your orders prepare this ship to go to war."

Then as the officers went to their duties he asked Lt. Cmdr. Shampezim to give him ship wide on the intercom. He took one of the handsets on the tactical plot table and picked it up when Enri signaled he had ship wide. "This is the Captain. We are about to go back into battle to save our home world. We don't know the outcome, but we will do our duties as members of the Terran Commonwealth's Navy. Trust in your shipmates; you've all been here before. Perhaps we'll win this day perhaps not, but those attacking Terra now will rue the day they struck at our home world! Men and women of the MAJESTIC you have your orders and duties see to them! We are going into battle once more!"

SKIES OVER ANTARCTICA

Captain Timothy Simpson USMC Aviation was flying an Air Force F/A 302 against several Death Gliders and already he was an Ace twice over. He and his wing man were closing in on a pair of Death Gliders aiming to attack SG-1's Tel'Tak. "This is Kage, Frosty follow me and keep any of their buddies off my back," Capt Simpson said as he fired a missile that struck and destroyed another Death Glider and turned his guns on the next one.

Maj. Mitchell had already bought it as his 302 slammed into a nearby ice covered mountain, but he took twenty of the Goa'uld fighters with him. Kage saw Shaft's 302 get its left wing shot off before it careened into the mountain skidding along its slop after crashing. Kage was still in Annapolis when the Gulf War broke out, but he did fly sorties over Bosnia and Kosovo as a First Lieutenant.

Kage was coming around for another swipe at the Goa'uld when he heard over his helmet's earphones, "Kage this is Rocket Jockey I've got your six! Your wing man bit the snow." That was when he saw what he thought was a laser beam slice through a Death Glider off to his right. He didn't linger on the thought long though as he saw an oncoming Death Glider and unleashed his cannons on it. The 30 millimeter armor piercing high explosive slugs fired by the GE RG-3 railgun ripped apart the alien fighter sending it to the snow covered ice below in a fireball.

THE BATTLE FOR EARTH ORBIT

The Earth Battle Cruiser PROMETHEUS fired all her ordnance taking out or crippling several of the Goa'uld Ha'Taks orbiting Earth. But there were two or three left for each one the little Earth ship took out of action. Hammond had ordered the ship to go to ramming speed when two things took place. One was a streak of yellow glowing squid like missiles aimed right at the flagship of Anubis' fleet. Another was the sight of several of the other of the Anubis's Ha'Taks taking what looked like plasma fire of their own and some other sort of high energy weapon. Yet it was the call from the ship calling itself the MAJESTIC that got his attention the most.

"PROMETHEUS Actual this is MAJESTIC Actual, I thought that I should lend a hand," came the voice of a man over the Bridge's speakers and another blast from what had to be the main gun of the MAJESTIC caused a nearby Ha'Tak to glow brightly before going dead in space. Then the yellow missiles sped past the Prometheus and tore apart Anubis' flagship. Next they swarmed several of the other ships in turn destroying those which the MAJESTIC did not.

Hammond looked at Maj. Gant and said, "Secure from ramming speed and resume normal military thrust. Weapons use what we've got left to help clean up this mess. MAJESTIC Actual, this is PROMETHEUS Actual when this is over I want to talk to you."

"Roger that PROMETHEUS, I am Captain Tomas Sanchez of the Terran Commonwealth Navy. Who am I speaking with?" said Sanchez over the speakers.

"Captain I am Major General George Simpson Hammond Commander of the PROMETHEUS and of Homeworld Security Command," said Hammond in reply.

It took another twelve hours to finish up the Battle of Earth, but all of the Ha'Taks that did not escape after the destruction of Anubis' flag ship were left dead in space in orbit. Down on the ground the surviving soldiers of the nations' militaries assisted where they could be by Terran Commonwealth Marines mopped up the remaining System Lords' Jaffa. It took weeks to clean out the last pockets of the invading Jaffa and Kull warriors.

During the weeks that it took to clean out the last nests of invaders the MAJESTIC remained in orbit as the PROMETHEUS was sent back to Area 51 for necessary repairs in the only space dock on the planet. With the Battle of Earth came the rude awakening to many of Earth's people that they were not alone in the universe or perhaps even in the multiverse.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN JOINT FORCES BASE COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, USA

Six months had passed since the Battle of Earth Colonel Jack O'Neill had been resurrected from the Ancients' suspended animation chamber. The threat to the Asgard presented by the replicators was eliminated thanks to a weapon developed by Colonel O'Neill while in an Asgard Medical Chamber and hooked up to the main Computer of Thor's ship.

With the Ancients' knowledge base again downloaded from him and this time preserved for the use of the Tau'ri O'Neill is returned home after rescuing Carter from the Replicators who've gone into hiding somewhere within the galaxy. With the Replicators dealt with O'Neill is promoted to Brigadier General and is transferred into the new Tau'ri Commonwealth Marine Corps. He then is made Commander Stargate Command which is transferred into the Tau'ri Commonwealth Armed Forces as a Joint Command. The crew of the MAJESTIC began serious training of the crew of the only other Tau'ri starship the PROMETHEUS. In appreciation of the help the Tau'ri gave the Asgard repair the MAJESTIC and the PROMETHEUS improving many of their on-board systems with older Asgard technologies.

Major Carter is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of SG-1, but also helps reverse engineer much of the Terran Commonwealth technology of the MAJESTIC into the new Tau'ri Common Wealth's armed forces. One was combining the best aspects of the Terran Common Wealth's version of the Redding Assault Battledress powered exoskeleton armor with the best of the Kull warrior armor. What she eventually developed mostly borrowed upon the Redding armor.

During this time new SG teams were created and Timothy "Kage" Simpson found himself in command of SG-13. He also found himself promoted to Major. His teammates were Captain (USAF) Joe "Flash" Harris, Lieutenant (USN) Sean Wirges, and Captain (US Army) Jennifer Simmons. All had been transferred into the new Tau'ri Commonwealth Armed Forces with Simpson, Harris and Simmons receiving TCMC commissions and Wirges received his with the TCN.

ONE YEAR AFTER THE BATTLE OF EARTH

Maj Simpson found himself and SG-13 in the Briefing Room at the SGC. At the head of the table near the large flat screen television sat Brig. Gen. O'Neill. To his left was Captain (TCN) Tomas Sanchez and Maj. Gen. Hammond was on his right. Though Hammond out ranked O'Neill it was clear to Simpson this was O'Neill's show. Before they began there was a bright flash of light and Thor the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet was there to the left of Capt. Sanchez.

O'Neill got up and said, "Well now that everyone is here, let's begin this briefing." He then went into a lecture on a group of worlds calling themselves the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. "These twelve worlds are in two binary systems orbiting the same bray point. These two binary systems have three Sol like main sequence stars and one that is more like Alpha Centauri Beta. These are called Helios Alpha, Helios Beta, Helios Gama and Helios Delta. Delta is the dimmest of the four." After giving more of the Astronomy and Cosmology of the system O'Neill turned the briefing over to Captain Sanchez.

"As we are in no condition yet to make contact with this Pocket Empire we think it will be prudent to study them,' Sanchez said. Then he goes into the specifics of the mission SG13 was being assigned to. "You are all without attachments to Earth thanks to the destruction caused by Anubis' thwarted invasion. At the moment though, we cannot take you to the Cyrannus Cluster. Both the PROMETHEUS and the MAJESTIC are still being repaired with the help of our allies the Asgard." Thor nodded at that statement. "It will be Supreme Commander Thor who will ferry you to the Colonies. His crew will also prep you for your total immersion into the Colonial Culture. Once in the Colonies you will be planted into the society of Caprica with cover stories, educational and identification documents and work to complete your covers. This mission is planned to last only five years. I know of Imperial Scouts who had longer infiltration missions back in my old universe so this is not all that unusual to me or my crew. If you need support my ship will be stationed somewhere near the Colonies after we've completed our repairs."

O'Neill took over there and said, "This is a high value mission and four of you are being promoted one grade and rank and Major Simpson you are being promoted to full Colonel." O'Neill tossed a jewelry box to Simpson who opened it to see to silver eagles only these had the emblem of the Tau'ri Confederation on the shield rather than that of the United States of America. "All of you are out of uniform as of now, but I'm not going to swear out charges on you. Where you're going you won't be wearing Tau'ri Confederation uniforms for a long time."

THREE WEEKS LATER IN ORBIT OF CAPRICA

Arriving stealthily into the Helios Alpha system of the Cyrannus Cluster an Asgard O'NEILL-Class Battlecruiser parks in orbit over one of Caprica's ocean side resort towns. Heimdall worked the controls of the ship's medical pods to awaken SG-13. After several minutes the pods open and the members of SG-13 come out of their slumber.

Colonel Simpson is the first to awaken. He swings his legs out over the edge of the Low Berth like device and using grab handles helps himself up. He looks over the Asgard ship's medical bay and then realizes he's naked. Seeing a locker with his name on it he walks over to it. Opening it he begins to get dressed.

As Col. Simpson does this the other members of SG-13 awaken and in turn notice that they too are undressed. Mutually deciding that since there were lockers on a nearby wall where the Colonel was getting dressed they walk over in the clothing God gave them and get dressed. "Jen, aren't you a little bit nervous being undressed around three handsome men?" asks Sean Wirges as he gets dressed.

"Lieutenant I grew up with several brothers. Each of them was very handsome. We all used to go skinny dipping in my grandfather's pond in Missouri. So I've been naked around equally naked men before. In fact each summer well into my college years we'd spend time at the old family farm even with friends. Most days we'd cool off in the pond by skinny dipping. It wasn't unusual for us to have our current love interest there with us and everyone was naked. So no I don't feel the least bit nervous," Capt. Simmons said as she dressed.

Each member of SG-13 dressed in civilian clothing that would have not drawn attention to them on Caprica or back on Earth. Mostly it was casual clothing like one would wear on vacation, after work, or on the weekends. When they were dressed Thor's Science Officer Heimdall presented them with their identity cards, driver's licenses, and wallets with local credit and debit cards. Heimdall said, "The cards are for the Caprica Colonial Bank and are good anywhere in the Colonies. You accounts are perfectly legal. Your identities have been introduced into the Caprican net and the Colonial database. There should be no issues once you are down there on your mission. We've rented these apartments in your names in Delphi. We have also rented these cabanas here at this resort." Heimdall hands them packets for their apartments and the resort cabanas. "We even have your places of employment for you."

"Colonel Simpson you are a pilot for Eversun Star-line. Colonel you also have a Colonial Marine Corps Reserve Commission as a Lieutenant in their Aviation Corps," Heimdall said to Kage as he handed him his work ID and papers along with his CMC packet and ID card. Next Heimdall passed each of the other members their packets. Then he said, "We thought it would be best for you to have reserve service commissions since there is a mandatory conscription in the Colonies. These cover stories tie you better into their society. You should each contact your units to check in once you are on the surface. Thor, will teleport you to your accommodations at the resort shortly. Don't worry about putting clothing and other necessities into your apartments we've already taken care of that during the last three weeks."

"Also your time in the medical pods was spent teaching you each what you need to know to make your backgrounds natural to you. You have had the Colonial language, the history, and their culture loaded into your memories. You also will notice that your recent conversations were not in English, but Colonial Greek. The Colonies speak a form of Modern Greek derived from the Ancient Greek spoken by those taken from Earth by the Ancients around the time of Trojan War," Heimdall added. "Good luck on your mission." As soon as Heimdall said that all four were engulfed in white light and disappeared from the Medical Chamber.


	2. Chapter 2

VALKYRIE

CHAPTER TWO

By D L. Hemmingway

All citations and acknowledgments are in Chapter One.

CAPRICA ONE WEEK AFTER INSERTION OF SG 13

Timothy Simpson found himself looking over his apartment after he had made sure his part of the long range communicator had been hidden. It was not bad. He had a loft in a converted warehouse in an old industrial district of Delphi. Eversun Lines did not have a berth for him on one of the ships at the moment so he had an extra week of vacation.

This extra time Tim spent getting to know the city of Delphi better. He met with the others at a local café and coffee house. This particular one was frequented by members of the Colonial Fleet and the Colonial Marines Corps it seemed. So on about two days after returning from Aphrodite Beach Tim found himself in a conversation with an attractive blond named Sarah Adama.

The two had talked for an hour before a man walked up to their table, and said, "Sarah who's this; your new conquest?" The man was a little younger than Sarah and was in Colonial Fleet Duty Greys. He had the rank pips of a Captain on the high round color of his double breasted jacket. The patch on his left shoulder showed that he was assigned to the Colonial Fleet Battlestar ATLANTIA.

Sarah looked up at the dark haired blue eyed young man and said, "No Lee, he's not a new conquest. This is Lieutenant Timothy Simpson of the Colonial Marine Corps Reserve Aviation. He's still on vacation from his civilian job as a pilot with Eversun Lines. We just met and have been talking the last hour is all.

Lee Adama looked Timothy over then offered his hand to the man. Timothy shook Adama's hand in the Colonial manner rather than how he would have on Earth. It seemed the Asgard conditioning worked even on muscle memory. Lee said, "I'm Captain Leland Joseph Adama. I fly Viper Sevens off the ATLANTIA."

Timothy smiled while shaking hands with Capt. Adama and said, "I'm Timothy Simpson. I'm a Lieutenant in the Three Forty Second Reserve Marine Viper Squadron. I fly the close ground support variant of the Viper Six here out of Delphi." The three started talking and Timothy learned that Sarah was also in the Fleet. She was a Communications Officer on the CFB TYR a VALKYRIE-Class Battlestar.

The three finished their meals and continued talking for another hour before the Adamas made their exits. Timothy then spent the rest of the day at the Delphi Museum of Colonial History. There he found something that startled him a little. On the second floor of the museum he found an intact Stargate on display. Around it were other artifacts of obviously Ancient origin. In front of the Stargate about the safe distance from the rings to keep from being destroyed by the vortex of the establishing wormhole was a seemingly functional DHD.

Tim filed that knowledge away for his report to Stargate Command and Commonwealth Fleet Command. Then he left the museum and made his way back to his apartment. He didn't have to make contact with Earth for another couple of weeks or so. He could enjoy his extended vacation from work and learn more of the city. Tim spent the rest of the day in the Market District until it was time to return home.

TWO CAPRICAN WEEKS LATER

STARGATE COMMAND LONG RANGE COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

A TCMC Private First Class was sitting at the table monitoring the Asgard long range communications device when suddenly he went limp for a few seconds. The TCMC Corporal also on duty in the room went over to see what was wrong when the other man awoke suddenly and said, "I need to make a report to General O'Neill, ASAP."

Several minutes later after assuring everyone he was Colonel Simpson within the body of the young TCMC Pfc. Timothy gave his report and returned to his own body back on Caprica. There he told the others that Command wanted them to continue their mission. The team was to continue in their civilian occupations and meet their obligations to the Colonial Armed Forces Reserves. "Also Generals O'Neill and Hammond ordered us to answer our call ups if our units get activated. I told them in that event we'll find ourselves most likely in separate areas of the Colonies. O'Neill looked at me and said in that event make contact when you can. He suggested that if we find ourselves activated that we put the Comms unit where we can find it and it would be safe from discovery by the Colonial Intelligence Bureau."

They all agreed that in event of their being activated that they would hide the Comms unit in Tim's apartment since it was the largest of the four and each member had a key to it. They also agreed to all meet there every month for their contact with and report to Earth. After that they all went to a Servicemen's club near the Colonial Joint Forces Base and that was where some trouble began.

CLUB CRASH AND BURN

Delphi, like San Diego was besides an industrial center and a college town, a Fleet Town. Colonial Joint Forces Base Delphi was the second largest employer next to the rebuilt Graystone Industries plant on the south side of the city. Fleet Air Station Delphi housed three full wings of Colonial Fleet Viper Squadrons plus five more Colonial Fleet Reserve Viper Squadrons and six wings of Colonial Marine Corps Aviation Reserve Viper Squadrons, the Colonial Joint Services Flight School, the Colonial Joint Services Viper School and the Colonial Marine Corps Recruit Depot Caprica. Tim had found the Viper VI to be easier to fly than the F/A 302 Starfighter II or the F/A 40 Warhawks of the TCS MAJESTIC's air group. His CMC Reserve Viper Squadron was here at Delphi. So he took the time to go get some air time before the team would meet up at the Crash and Burn.

Now Club Crash and Burn was your typical aviator's bar. It had pictures of past Colonial Viper pilots or Raptor Pilots. Those of Aces were hung up with their kill records and duplicates of their citations and their awards and decorations. There were scale models of Vipers and Raptors of every model the Colonial Fleet or Marine Corps used all the way back to just before the Cylon War and Colonial unification. Also one could see decorating the walls were plaques bearing the crest of various Viper or Raptor squadrons of either the Colonial Fleet or the Colonial Marine Corps.

Each of the four members of SG 13 had covers not that much different from their actual backgrounds on Earth. Two were Marine Corps Pilots before joining the Program, one was a Naval Aviator and Jen well she was an Army Physician. Here Simpson and Harris were again in the Marine Corps Aviation with Simpson a Ground Support Viper Pilot and Harris flying Troop Transport variations of the Raptor. Wirges found himself with orders after reporting to Fleet Air Station Delphi's Headquarters assigning him to the Colonial Fleet Battlestar Galactica. Simmons found herself assigned to the Air Station's base hospital as an Emergency Room Trauma Surgeon. They were all reservist with civilian careers similar to what they were doing in the Colonial Armed Forces Reserves.

Simpson found himself when on flight status with Eversun flying wealthy Colonials and Businessmen and women to the various colonies. Harris ferried heavy equipment and miners to some mining projects high up in the Atlas Mountains between Caprica City and Delphi in the civilian versions of his Marine Corps Raptor. Wirges on the other hand found himself activated for a three year refresher hitch aboard the Galactica. It seems his squadron commander was one Kara "Starbuck" Thrace.

Jen was the lucky one of the quartet. She found her civilian job was the same job she did as her Reserve Status Duty or on Active Duty Status. It seems the Colonial Armed Forces had a program similar to the United States Armed Forces where some military personnel on reserve status found themselves in uniform, but paid as civil servants except when on drill status and on their annual training. Back home on Earth prior to unification it was called AGR status for Active Guard and Reserve. Jen was surprised that in the Colonial Armed Forces it was called Active Reserve Status or ARS.

Shortly after entering the Crash and Burn the quartet found themselves a table. Before long after that Wirges and Simmons were out on the dance floor. Harris was drinking the Caprican equivalent of India Pale Ale beer with some buddies from his Marine Raptor Squadron. Simpson however found the holoband Viper simulator and got a visor from the attendant and began to test his skills in older vipers like the venerable Mark II. Simpson was racking up the kills when the game suddenly changed to player vs player. Then things got dicey and hairy.

For Simpson it was almost like going up against Death Gliders back during the Battle of Earth. Only his opponent was much better than the ill trained Jaffa who flew those Gliders. This was more like going through the Navy's Top Gun Course back on Earth. He only managed to narrowly escape game death before he dove into an asteroid field and began to use the rocks as ablative armor as he searched for some place to lay an ambush.

In the time he spent so far on Caprica he had taken much of his lengthy vacation at the Air Station either getting in flight hours on his Viper or time in the Viper Simulator doing either attack missions or aerospace superiority missions. He actually enjoyed the getting mud on his wing tips and in his atmospheric air intake. The Fleet Viper jocks rarely got that close to the surface or even in atmo for long enough to open up the intakes which turned their rockets into ramjets. Simpson started using some of his ground support tactics to shake his opponent.

At another table in the Crash and Burn the Adama family and friends sat watching the overhead video display of what was going on the bar's pocket V-World Viper simulator. "Dad am I mistaken, or has Starbuck met her match tonight?" commented Zachary "Zak" Adama, a Junior Lieutenant in the same squadron as Harris. In fact Adama found himself as Lieutenant Joseph "Fighting Joe" Harris' ECO. Next to Zak sat his bigger brother Lee Adama call sign Apollo. He too was watching Kara getting taken for a ride by someone who knows his stuff when it came to Vipers. Both pilots were in Mark IIs and flying a Cylon War scenario that turned somehow into a pvp situation.

Before Apollo could answer Commander William "Husker" Adama the patriarch of the family said, "No, you're not mistaken Kara is up against someone who has combat experience. He's flying combat tactics like he's done it before." Husker was a veteran of the Cylon War and racked up so many kills back then they stopped counting. Just about every surviving Viper pilot of that War was an Ace. Adama saw another ace when he watched this Kage's fighter tactics. Even when he dived in atmo and went for the deck to shake off Starbuck, Adama smiled as it was something he would have done and had more than once.

In the virtual dog fight Simpson was getting tired of losing this Starbuck only to be found and nearly splashed in the asteroid field so he dived for the nearest planet. It just happened to be Caprica of the dual planet system of Caprica-Gemenon. He dived down into some canyon country in the southern Atlas Mountains and to his surprise Starbuck followed him. But here he was in his element. He was an F/A 18 Super Hornet pilot before flying F/A 302 Starfighter IIs or even Viper Mk VIs. He even for a short time flew AV 8 Harriers. The Mk VI was like a cross between his old Harrier, his old Super Hornet and his Starfighter II. However the Mk II he was piloting was like crossing the Super Hornet with only the Harrier. And like those birds it was a Pilot's fighter. So he ducked into a deep valley and hovered under an arching rock bridge waiting for Starbuck to fly by looking for him.

Kage didn't have to wait long as he saw her streak by as fast as the Mk II could go which was not the smartest move in this confined area. Just as his pursuer passed him he jumped his fighter out and behind her and let loose with his cannons. As he did this though Starbuck used the inverted turn and reverse flying technique of the Viper to turn the tables on him. Only she didn't take into account the fast approaching nearly ninety degree turn the canyon took. She got a few rounds into Kage's Mk II just before she slammed backwards into the canyon wall.

Starbuck's shots ripped of one of Kage's wings and his Vipers started to careen towards the canyon floor a half mile below. He punched out and like he'd done once in real life he let his parachute take him to safety. He did see that Starbuck's Viper impacted and disintegrated on the cliffs of the canyon wall before she could eject. The game ended and the scoring software awarded him the win since he survived to fight another day. Then the virtual world of the game stopped. He took his headset off and started looking around for who it was he faced off against.

Kage saw that at the other end of the bank of consoles stood a female pilot in Colonial Fleet Duty Dress Grays. She too was looking around for the pilot that got her and as she scanned the room she also checked the tally board to see who it was that she flew against. Her eyes caught the score board like Tally Board and widened. "Damn who in the names of the Gods is this Kage?" the woman called out. "He has some brass ones to fly like that!" Then she saw next to his call sign his name and rank and the squadron he was assigned to. "Frak, it had to be a Mud Hopper; a godsdamned Marine out flew me tonight!"

Over at his end of the bank of consoles Simpson just put his hand in front of his mouth to hide his smirk. However as the woman turned she saw him and his eyes told her that he was having fun at her discomfort. She looked at him and yelled, "It was you? You're the godsdamned Marine Mud Hopper that splashed me?" Simpson just nodded and said calmly, "Lieutenant Timothy Simpson, call sign's Kage and yes I splashed you. I would suggest Captain that you brush up on your atmospheric flight and close ground flight along with that. I fly Ground Support variants of the Viper Six."

At that point Sarah Adama came up beside Kara Thrace and said, "Careful Kara, he's mine. Besides aren't you and Zak getting married soon?" Then she walked over to Kage, hugged him from the side and said, "Kage don't say anything, but dad wants to meet you finally." The two of them, Kage and Sarah saw each other on and off since they first met. All that time Galactica was on border patrol along the Armistice Line. Then the Galactica came back for Rest and Refit at the Caprica Fleet Station.

It wasn't being scheduled for the new Command Navigation Program as Kage remembered reading in a Colonial Officers' Association magazine, but instead after this refit the Galactica will go on one last three year cruise around the Colonies and finally come to rest by one of the outer planets of Helios Alpha and be refitted as the Colonial Cylon War Memorial Museum.

The ship and her Captain, Commander William Samuel Adama call sign HUSKER will be retired the same day. Adama's gift was to be not only the last Commander, but the Museum's first Curator. The GALACTICA Cylon War Memorial Museum will be both a living history and a static display museum as a joint project of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education.

Kage looked at Kara Thrace, Captain Colonial Fleet Aviation, Primus Squadron Commander and Deputy Commander Air Group Colonial Fleet Battlestar GALACTICA and said, "Sarah's right Captain I am taken." Then he smiled looking slightly down into the blue eyes of Sarah. Then he looked back at Capt. Thrace and said, "So are you going to forgive a Godsdamned Mud Hopper and buy the one who out flew you a drink?"

After Thrace bought Simpson another mug of the local version of IPA beer she escorted him and Sarah over to the table where the Adamas and their friends the Tighs sat. Sarah looking at her father spoke first and said, "Dad, this here is Lieutenant Timothy Simpson he and I met a few weeks ago while I was on leave."

William Adama stood up and walked around the table to stand in front of Lt. Simpson. He looked over the Marine Aviator from head to toe. He looked Simpson in the eyes and saw the cold look of a predator looking back at him. It was the same look he had many years ago after all the combat he faced in the final years of the Cylon War. He saw that Lt. Simpson had seen his share through the eyes he looked into. The trouble was Simpson was too young to have flown in the Cylon War and even flying ground support missions for Marines on counter insurgency missions or attacking pirate hideouts didn't give one the eyes of a hunter and killer.

Looking at Simpson, Adama offered up his hand to him and the Lieutenant took it shaking it firmly. Both men eyed each other as if they were judging the other one. Then Adama smiled and said, "So you're the Marine that caught the eye of my daughter?" He held the younger man's hand in a gentle, but firm grip as he gauged him for the qualities he wanted in a son-in-law.

Simpson held his grip firm and did not counter the older man's grip other than to keep the same pressure the patriarch of the Adama household used. He looked Adama in the eyes and saw a strong leader and a veteran warrior. He somehow felt for the first time since the loss of his family in Anubis' orbital bombing of Earth that he had found a home beyond the SGC and a new family. The look of Adama's was both one of inquiry and of welcome as he saw reflected in the older man's eyes his same judgement in return.

Simpson had to admit that he and Sarah saw as much of each other as their schedules would allow. Lately Sarah had transferred off of the TYR for duty dirt side at Colonial Fleet Station Delphi and with his job at Eversun he had every other week off plus his drill dates and annual training duty cycles. He and she had been seeing each other for weeks now. Somehow from the look that the elder Adama was giving him Simpson knew that he was accepted into their clan.

"Yes sir, I am," replied Simpson. "We met on my annual vacation from Eversun Lines at the Caprica Beach resort." He looked down at Sarah and smiled the two of them had come to know each other very biblically as they would say back on Earth. "Since then we've come to know each other very well. I was a little surprised when we ran into each other in the CFS Delphi's Commissary and later at the Fleet Exchange." He smiled thinking of the time he was looking over some civilian hunting clothes and a nice twenty millimeter bore shotgun.

He and Harris were planning a hunting trip up into the Atlas Mountains to a wilderness area where the local version of Whitetail Deer were said to be plentiful. The local season was in a couple of months and he was surprised to see Sarah looking over a semi-automatic 7mm sporting rifle. The one in particular was the civilian version of the standard issue combat rifle of the CMC. They talked over the right gear and guns for hunting and camping for the next hour.

"We've even planned on going hunting up in the Atlas Mountains come this year's season," Simpson said looking down at the woman who took his heart and ran with it. He knew that she was what he needed to reclaim his humanity after the loss of his own wife and kids when the housing area outside Nellis AFB near Las Vegas, Nevada where he flew F/A 302s out of Groom Lake took multiple plasma bolts. His house took a direct hit and there were no survivors. The attack had come after the end of the school day and Maurine and the boys were already in the house getting dinner ready. He would have been home not long afterward, but the alert went out and he was involved in multiple dogfights over the Americas and Antarctica.

It was his finding of Sarah Adama which relit the humanity within his heart. Tim knew that Sarah was the one to comfort him; though he didn't tell her exactly why he had withdrawn into himself beyond his work and duties. "Your daughter sir has relit a fire within me I once thought extinguished. You are lucky to have sired a woman like her,"

The rest of the evening saw Simpson and Sarah dancing while Wirges and Simmons wound up also on the floor. Harris found himself talking with his ECO, Zak Adama and his fiancée Kara Thrace. Lee Adama was there with his wife Giana and they went out to dance as well. Watching Sara and Tim, Caroline leaned over and said, "Bill they look like you and I did when we were that young, don't you think?"

Cmdr. Adama watched Lt. Simpson and Lt. Adama dance. He turned to look at Caroline and said, "You may be right. He looks at Sarah the way I look at you. Caroline would you like this dance?" Caroline accepted and then after they were on the floor for a little while Bill noticed that the Tighs had joined them as had Zak and Kara.

Simpson and SG-13 spent the rest of the evening until last call with the Adamas and Tighs. Kara looked over at Simpson and said, "Kage I want a rematch, but not tonight." Then she turned to Wirges and said, "Mongoose I want you at your best tomorrow the entire squadron is flying back up to the GALACTICA. The Bucket is almost through getting refitted and resupplied. I am sure the Old Man will want us ready for our last patrol by morning." Adama confirmed that and then called it an evening.

COLONIAL BATTLESTAR PEGASUS NEAR COLONIAL-CYLON ARMISTICE LINE

The CFB PEGASUS floated in the void of space near the agreed to line demarcating the boundary between Colonial Space and Cylon Space. The point they were along the line was one light year out from the nearest rim-ward system claimed by the Cylons. This system was slightly tailing and rim-ward of the Colonies and the PEGASUS was testing a new stealthy VIPER that was meant to be a reconnaissance ship. Unlike the ordinary VIPERS which were Space Superiority Fighters, the VIPER MK VIII had a jump drive and was a two seater.

Inside PEGASUS' CIC or Combat Information Center Rear Admiral Helena Cain and her Command Staff were monitoring Lieutenant Daniel Novacek call sign Bulldog as he flew the stealth mission into Cylon Space. The PEGASUS and Rdml. Cain were chosen because Colonial Fleet Command knew they could count on Cain to pull off this mission without reservation and regardless of the cost. Cain looked at her Executive Officer or XO Colonel Jurgen Belzen and said, "Have the Cylons' behavior changed yet?"

Col. Belzen looked at the DRADIS as it tracked the activities of the Cylon Basestar in the system they were reconning with the Stealth Viper. "They don't show activity of them detecting Bulldog yet sir," Belzen replied as he continued to monitor the activity in the system. "Nor have they shown signs of having detected us."

CYLON SYSTEM CLOSE TO COLONIAL-CYLON ARMISTICE LINE

Bulldog kept radio silence as he flew the Stealth Viper into the star system after completing a jump that brought him into the outer system near one of two gas giants. He had navigated through asteroid belt that lay between the inner of the two gas giants and the outermost of five inner planets. His mission was to sneak in and mine signals intelligence and get photo intelligence on Cylon operations in this star system.

So far Bulldog found no sign of Cylon occupation of the moons of the gas giants, the asteroid belt or the first two of the inner worlds of this system. Bulldog then piloted the Stealth Viper into a very high orbit of the third world of the system. There he hit pay dirt. There was a Colonial War era Basestar and an unusual ship that was almost like two letter Ys connected by a column between intersections of the legs of each Y. This ship was just over twice the size of the older Cylon ship. Bulldog piloted the Stealth Viper to a point between the two ships so he could better siphon off any communications chatter between the two ships.

Bulldog rigged for silent running and knew his ship was designed to limit all emissions. Still as a pair of patrolling Raiders passed by he kept his thumb on the emergency jump button just in case he had to make a quick getaway to avoid detection and possible destruction. Though he knew also if he was detected and could not get away he had to destroy his ship and him along with it. The Fleet didn't want any loose ends that could cause trouble with the Cylons.

Suddenly a flash caught Bulldog's eye and he realized too late the flash was a missile firing from one of the two newer model Cylon Raiders near him. His thumb pressed down on the jump initiation button and his ship disappeared in a flash of light. In the blink of an eye Bulldog was near the PEGASUS and the LSO was calling him to come in. Back in the system the missile just passed where Bulldog had been. Also as soon as Bulldog was safely in the flight pod PEGASUS jumped back to the Colonies.

ONE MONTH AFTER THE DANCE AT THE CRASH AND BURN

Simpson was again walking down the halls of Stargate Command. He walked up and entered the briefing room. This time he occupied the body of an Army Major who commanded SG-25. One thing he noted upon opening his eyes in the new body was that when he caught his reflection the service tape said Tau'ri Unified Army. The name tape said Patwin.

Upon reaching the Commander Stargate Command Col. Simpson knocked. Then he entered once the person on the other side ordered him to enter. There sitting behind the desk was Brigadier General O'Neill. He looked like he was waiting for Simpson or rather Patwin to speak up. "Colonel Simpson reporting in with my monthly report sir," Simpson said as he saluted.

O'Neill returned the salute and asked Simpson to fill him in on what's going on in the Twelve Colonies. After telling the General about his duties as a Viper VI pilot and his analysis of that fighter's performance Simpson went on to say, "As you know I've made contact with one of their fleet's officers. It turns out that Sarah's father William Adama is the Commanding Officer of the Battlestar GALACTICA. Her older brother Leland Joseph Adama is a Squadron Commander on the Battlestar ATLANTIA. Her younger brother Zachary Adama is Captain Harris' Electronic Countermeasures Officer. Also this last month I had the distinction of flying and fighting in simulated combat against one of their fleet's best pilots. Captain Kara Thrace whose call sign is Starbuck has the makings of a good if not great combat pilot. In my opinion though she is a bit too brash and also she makes several mistakes. She was upset that I scored higher last night at the Crash and Burn than she did."

O'Neill laughed then said, "Guess she didn't know she was flying against an Ace did she?" Then O'Neill's face got serious and he added, "While you and your team have been infiltrating Colonial society the PROMETHEUS-Class cruiser PROMETHEUS on its way back from patrolling the edge of what will be the Solomani Confederation she found this." Picking up a remote from his desk O'Neill turned on a large flat screen television that hung on the back wall of his office.

When the screen came on and the General manipulated few controls at his desk an image came up of a starship shaped like a couple of capital Ys nested on top of each other in orbit over one of the planets Earth was helping to defend. "The PROMETHEUS was light hours away from the planet when its sensors picked up an energy distortion and then they found this ship in orbit. The society on that planet used to be at the same industrial development as Earth was during the Victorian Age. Now it has been blasted back to the Stone Age. Shortly after the PROMETHEUS detected the ship the other vessel launched an orbital bombardment of the surface with nuclear ordnance."

"Did the PROMETHEUS intervene sir?" Simpson asked.

"No, before she could close at maximum military thrust the enemy ship jumped away. Even if PROMETHEUS's commander had ordered an in system jump even with our back engineered Goa'uld Hyperdrives the trip would have taken too long. God forbid the PROMETHEUS would have to use the emergency jump drives."

Simpson nodded as he looked at the events unfold on the screen. Even a micro jump with the emergency Jump-Space drives would take a week to complete. What was a standard technology in the universe the MAJESTIC came from was deemed useful, but relegated to emergency use only. The MAJESTIC Drive as it had come to be known as was limited by its range. Even with the fuel taken out of the picture because of the use of naquadah enhanced fusion powerplants the drive still was hampered by the physics of the sublayer of subspace called Jump Space.

"I see so while the PROMETHEUS was plodding through real space at two gravities acceleration that ship had enough time to launch a nuclear strike on that planet," said Simpson. He asked, "So what are we going to do sir?" He was still looking at the camera footage taken by the PROMETHEUS.

"Well we, not you are going to begin building the fleet and send out some of our new EXPLORER-Class scout-courier ships to find anymore examples of this race that bombs human worlds. You are going to continue your mission in the Colonies and find out what you can about the technology used by these Cylons the Colonials fought nearly forty years ago. It's time for a museum trip for you and SG-13 Colonel Simpson," O'Neill said. Simpson nodded then saluted again while excusing himself from Brig. Gen. O'Neill's Office.

Simpson remembered what he had learned about the EXPLORER-Class Scout-Couriers on his way back to the DEVICE Room. It was a small ship not more than 14000 cubic meters in size. It could be ran by a crew of one, but could operate at optimum efficiency with a crew of four. It had quarters for a crew of four or eight if double bunking was used. The Ship's maneuver drives were capable of two gravities acceleration and its emergency jump drive had a range of two parsecs. Its hyperdrive had unlimited range, but was slow. The trip from Earth to Prometheus in the Alpha Centauri Alpha system took four hours. In contrast the PROMETHEUS-Class Cruiser did the trip in a matter of minutes. The refitted MAJESTIC took the same time as the PROMETHEUS.

SIMPSON'S APARTMENT DELPHI

When Simpson came too it was Sarah Adama who greeted him not Harris or one of the others. She looked a little miffed, but she talked civilly, "So Colonel Simpson is it? You're a Colonel in the Tau'ri Marine Corps?" She then told him how due to a mobilization drill he and his friends along with most of the Colonial Armed Forces were called to duty. She and her father were sent to see where everyone was when not one of Simpson or his friends answered the mobilization call. "Your friends are out in the main room with dad, my brothers, and Colonel Tigh."

Before Simpson could even reply Sarah continued, "I had a long talk with the other man who was in your body. So Earth is real?" She then offered him a sip of some herbal tea she had made. "The tea has healing properties and is good for fevers. With Patwin in your body you were running a high fever and couldn't really answer the muster of your squadron. Don't worry; Harris took care of things. He and Zak told your commander that you were gravely ill. I got permission to tend to you while they went to their units to report. They only just got back."

"You weren't supposed to learn of this. Damn, this is a total frakup. You can't tell your father of this. At least not until Earth is ready to tell your people about us. And before you ask, no we're not the Thirteenth Tribe. From our studies and the contacts we've made in parts of the Galaxy we're like the First Tribe. Now don't go telling that to your father either," Simpson said looking pleadingly into Sarah's eyes.

"TOO LATE," yelled Commander William Adama from the doorway into Simpson's bedroom. Then the patriarch of the Adama family walked up to Simpson's bedside. He looked at the odd device on the bedside table then at Simpson himself. "So Earth exists? I want a full report son. I am not going to turn you in, not just yet. You see Earth needs to be our ace in the hole. The game of Triade we're playing with the Cylons needs to be played close to the vest. We know they're still out there somewhere beyond the Armistice Line, We just don't know what they're up to."

"Sir, I can't divulge anything that could harm Earth's security. You know that as a soldier. You know that I took an oath to protect and defend the Articles of Confederation from all enemies foreign and domestic. Well I also took a similar oath to the United States of America and later with unification to the United Earth," Simpson said. Then he looked Cmdr. Adama straight in the eyes. "Sir I can say I am here to see if Earth can make contact with the Colonies peacefully. We've had too many first contacts go bad. We're in a war now with alien parasites called the Goa'uld. A couple of years before my coming here their leader at the time tried to invade Earth. Many of our largest cities were bombed from orbit. We barely survived by the skins of our teeth. We had hundreds of millions of dead because of the orbital bombardment. I lost many members of my family including my wife and children." As he spoke both anger and sadness of loss filled his voice and the expressions of his face.

Adama touched the shoulder of Sarah who now was almost to the brink of tears as Simpson told of the Battle of Earth and Anubis' attack. Then he went on to fill the father and daughter in on the past up to that time. Then after saying that Earth was the first world he told them what the prevailing view of the Colonies was," We think back on Earth that the Ancients must of set up your homeworld as a safeguard against the Goa'uld. Though there are some Goa'uld who usurped the names of the Olympian gods and goddesses, we've learned that there were members of the Ancients who also went by the names of the Lords of Kobol. You are our backup. I don't know what happened to the Thirteenth Tribe. I don't think they made it back to Earth." He watched what he said to them sink in. "We just aren't ready yet to open up relations with the Colonies yet. We're still rebuilding and building up our fleet. During the Battle of Earth there was an incident where a ship from a parallel universe misjumped into orbit over Earth."

"The Battlecruiser MAJESTIC you talked about," said Sarah. Simpson nodded and told how it helped Earth's first Battlecruiser the PROMETHEUS defeat the combined System Lords Fleet. He told them about his part in the Battle of Antarctica. "That was why you were so good against Starbuck," Sarah responded.

The senior Adama looked down at the prone Simpson and said, "Son I can appreciate your wanting to keep this secret. If we had discovered Earth and conducted a similar mission it would be just as clandestine. Now I am going to keep this information to myself. You son are going to continue your mission and Lieutenant you are going to abide by your oaths and defend humanity against all enemies foreign or domestic." Next Adama went over to the nearby telephone and picked it up. Simpson stared at him with fear shooting across his face. Sarah worked hard to console him and to make him see that the Commander was not turning him in.

After the lengthy telephone call Adama turned to Simpson and said, "Son your squadron just got transferred to the GALACTICA. I pulled some strings and turned in some favors just now. You see this was to be the GALACTICA's last three year mission. I had just got through commanding the VALKYRIE and was going to retire. They were going to retire the GALACTICA too, but I just convinced some old Academy classmates of mine to keep her in service and to refit her as a MARINESTAR. That was the fate of several of her sister ships. The GALACTICA may not be capable of frontline service anymore, but as an assault ship she can serve on for many more years."

Simpson looked up at Adama wondering just why this concerned him when the elder Adama spoke again all was clear. "I had your squadron activated. It will be assigned as the attack squadron for the refitted GALACTICA. You after you get dressed are to report to your squadron commander then to GALACTICA's CAG Major Jackson "Dipper" Spencer. Your new assignment will start today soldier. Oh and bring that device you as your team will need it."

That was how Simpson learned that his team got activated and transferred to Adama's command too. Adama just smiled like the cat who cornered a mouse. What his look said to Simpson was, "Gotcha!" Adama had a reputation within the Fleet of not only being something of a maverick, but also being skilled at assignments that were off the books. He according to what Simpson had gleaned from others in both the Marine Corps and the Fleet started his career out with a covert operation.

Simpson slowly realized that his world just got crazier. Then Sarah popped the question, "Tim, we've been going together for nearly a year; don't you think it's time we made things official?" Simpson's eyes really widened then. "I think a wedding on base by a chaplain with both of us in our dress uniforms would be great." She just smiled down at him knowing she had him over a barrel.

ONE MONTH AFTER THE ADAMA – SIMPSON WEDDING

The Pilots' Ready Room on the GALACTICA had the placards with the ship's Squadrons' unit crests hanging form the bulkhead walls. The pilots from all the ship's squadrons were in the large auditorium like room. Standing at the front of the room at the podium was Major Jackson Spencer whose call sign was Dipper. From that location the GALACTICA's CAG looked over his domain. "Gentlemen and Ladies I would like you to welcome the men and women of our two newest additions. First we have the pilots of RML-776 the Gangsters…"

The pilots of RML-776 stood up including Lieutenant Joseph Harris and Junior Lieutenant Zachary Adama and bowed to the other pilots and Raptor ECOs.

Spencer then waved over and nodded to the pilots of VMFA-342 "Devildogs" introducing them and asking them to stand. Lieutenant Timothy Simpson stood up and bowed with the rest of the squadron. "Now we are going to make a jump to the Scorpia Fleet Yard to be refitted into a MARINESTAR. We are being transferred from the Combat Fleet to the Marine Fleet. This refit is to take up most of the next year then we start two years of training for planetary landings of Marines and both close ground support operations with our two new Viper Six squadrons and Air and Space superiority operations with our Viper Seven squadrons. We've also picked up Captain Leland Joseph Adama's squadron from the ATLANTIA. It seems our first cruise as a MARINESTAR is going to be accompanied by a documentary crew with the Secretaries of Defense and Education attending the rechristening ceremony."

JAYHAWK-CLASS FAR-TRADER CHARLES BENT ORBIT PQ6-824/ GEMINI-2135

Warren Mears had graduated from Sunnydale High School and instead of going to MIT or any other well known technology university he signed up for and was accepted into the Commercial Space Exploration Program of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Upon graduation he found himself the Third Officer aboard one of the latest starships in the Tau'ri Civilian Fleet. The CHARLES BENT was named for one of the fur-traders who built and founded Bent's Fort in Colorado.

Now the CHARLES BENT was in orbit over a garden world with a primitive human colony of former slaves of the Goa'uld. The planet going by the SGC designation PQ6-824 was eight parsecs rim-ward and four parsecs tailing of Earth. The Tau'ri Trade Authority and the Tau'ri Confederation Navy was surprised that a former Goa'uld world was so close to Earth. Most of the other worlds close to Earth were either uninhabited or were established as fail-safe colonies by the Ancients. This world after they arrived was found to be a former naquadah mining colony of Ba'al's. Ba'al was the one System Lord who the Tau'ri had yet to defeat.

Warren was standing the Mid-Watch when the ship's sensors detected an energy pulse. He looked at the energy signature and noted it was similar to a ship coming out of a jump. Then the ship's computer showed that the energy signature was similar to one detected by the PROMETHEUS a few years ago over another rim-ward early industrial world which was nuked back to the stone age by a mysterious starfish shaped starship. He's eyes widened when he read a further update of the sensor sweep. "Oh shit, oh shit..." he said as he reached for and took up a handset on the ship's bridge to alert the Captain. "Captain to the Bridge! Captain to the Bridge! Captain to the Bridge!" he yelled into the transmitter portion of the handset.

The ship he recognized from TCN intelligence reports forwarded to the ships of the growing merchant fleet. It was listed as a hostile of unknown origin. Captain Tucker Wells came on to the Bridge nearly as soon as he could considering that his stateroom was on the port-side of the central cargo bay/ hold. Capt. Wells had to nearly run to get to the Bridge in a timely manner after being called to it by 3rd Officer Mears. The Bridge was on the starboard side of the ship forward of the Ship's Crew and Officers' Quarters and Medical Bay.

"Report!" Capt. Wells yelled as he stepped onto the Bridge from the Crew Lounge. 3rd Officer Mears looked out through the armored glass canopy of the Bridge towards the Dreadnaught sized starfish shaped starship that had just jumped into the orbit of the planet. "Sir that ship just jumped in and it belongs to Hostile Race Two. It has been sitting over the planet now for a few minutes without doing anything." Mears made his report as calmly as he could. Then the two of them saw the ship descend to a lower orbit as their incoming transmission alarm beeped at them.

As the Third Officer Mears was responsible for Communications and the Computers along with Sensors. "Crap, that ship is trying to infect our system with a virus! I got this!" he yelled as he jumped into his station's acceleration couch and began initiating anti-mal-ware counter measures. Wells watched as Mears worked his controls and worked to counter the electronic warfare attack. After several minutes the attack was thwarted and Mears blew out a long held breath releasing a sigh. "Sir I think we need to prepare to make an emergency jump out of system, ASAP!" Mears pointed up to the main sensor display which indicated several fighter sized spacecraft were headed their way.

Wells stepped back to his Command Station and keyed up the Ship's Intercom and calmly stated, "Crew this is the Captain make way for jump! Make way for Jump! We're leaving this system now!" At that point First Officer Lawrence "Larry" Blaisdell and Second Officer Jonathan Levinson rushed onto the Bridge and took their workstations. Back in Engineering Anya Jenkins the Engineering Officer went to work spooling up the Hyperdrive. In the Medical Bay Harmony Kendall prepped the aid station and did a check on the low-berths. The Cargo Master Andrew Wells made sure any cargo they had was secured and then reported back to his older brother and Commander that the hold and all other cargo areas were secure for Jump. EO Jenkins also reported the drives were ready. Medic Kendall said all the ship's medical areas were secure for jump. After the departments all checked in Tucker ordered the ship to go into hyperspace.

Just as a C-shaped fighter closed to within weapons range of the small 100,000 cubic foot sized ship it started maneuvering at full acceleration towards a cloudy vortex that opened up several hundred thousand meters from it. The fighter changed its course and preceded to follow the small ship. On the Bridge 1st Officer Blaisdell took remote control of the Ship's Weapons and targeted both the port and starboard turrets' missile launchers and dual laser cannons to track and fire on the incoming fighter. He also began piloting the ship through evasive maneuvers to avoid the rail-gun fire from the other ship.

Warren looked up from his workstation and yelled, "Radiological Alarm! Nuclear weapons detected!" He was looking at both the fighter behind them and the mother-ship. With that Capt. Wells said, "Larry give us full thrust into the jump window! Get us out of here!" Just as Wells gave that order one of the 240 millimeter anti-ship Space-Harpoon missiles fired by the CHARLES BENT locked on to the pursuing fighter and connected with its face like nose just as a nuclear missile from its magazine locked on to the Far-Trader.

Seeing that the other ship's missile had a terminal lock on his ship Wells slammed his right fist down on to the emergency jump button just as Mears sent out a distress call over the ship's subspace radio to Earth. Just as the missile closed with the position of the CHARLES BENT the ship entered a jump-space transition bubble and disappeared from normal space. Shortly afterward the Hyperspace Portal collapsed and the Cylon Raider exploded from the impact of the shaped-charged warhead of the Space-Harpoon missile.

SGC COMMAND TAU'RI CONFEDERATION JOINT FORCES BASE CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN

Recently promoted Major General Jonathan "Jack" O'Neill was called out of his office to the GATE CONTROL ROOM where he overheard the recorded emergency subspace transmission from the CHARLES BENT. It confirmed that there was another attack by Hostile Two on another primitive world just beyond Tau'ri Space. He went over to a copy of the red telephone he had in his office. He picked it up and pressed its only dial button

WHITE HOUSE OVAL OFFICE

President Thomas J. Whitmore was receiving the latest report on the ongoing reconnaissance of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General William Grey. Whitmore had succeeded President Henry Hayes as the US President after Hayes declined to accept his party's nomination for a second term. Whitmore was the fall back and a hero of the Battle of Earth to boot. Then the red phone that was direct link to the Stargate Command base at the TCAF Joint Base at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado went off.

"Pardon me General it seems General O'Neill has something to report that's important," Whitmore said as he went over to his desk to answer the ringing phone. Picking it up he said, "Whitmore here." Then he listened as O'Neill reported what was in the CHARLES BENT transmission. Then he listened to a recording of the message itself. His face went ashen as he listened to the harried voice of the ship's commanding officer. When he was sure O'Neill was back on the phone he said, "Send a PROMETHEUS-Class to that system and see what happened. I want a full report to deliver to the Confederation General Assembly as soon as you can get me one." He would have sent a DAEDALUS-Class to the system, but with only two of that class in service so far and the next American and the first Chinese and Russian vessels just now clearing their slips he didn't have much in the way of options. He also ordered O'Neill to brief the TC President Henry Hayes and the Confederation Security Council.

After hanging up the red phone Whitmore looked over at Gen. Grey, "Well Bill it looks like we're in the deep end of the pool again." Then he briefed Grey on the interstellar situation and what he was going to do. Being on the TCSC gave Whitmore the power to order ships to the area without going through Hayes and then the Commander Tau'ri Confederation Armed Forces. The Tau'ri Confederation Security Council was the successor to the old United Nations Security Council. With the United States being one of the five permanent members and him being the Head of State and Government of one of those members Whitmore along with the Russian and Chinese Presidents and the British and French Prime Ministers could dispatch Tau'ri troops and ships in an emergency without a resolution of the full Council, or even the General Assembly, or the permission of the President of the Tau'ri Confederation.

He picked up a regular telephone and asked the White House Operator to connect him with Groom Lake Joint Forces Base. Then once he had the Groom Lake Operator he asked for a connection with the Commander of the First Light Cruiser Squadron. Next after being connected to the British Rear Admiral in command of the 1st Light CRURON he ordered the ship most ready to be deployed in a hurry to be sent to PQ6-824 to investigate a possible sighting of a ship from Hostile Two.

COLONIAL FLEET MARINESTAR GALACTICA ONE YEAR AFTER STARTING REFIT RECOMMISSIONING DAY IN ORBIT OVER CAPRICA

Lieutenant Timothy Simpson flew his Viper Six in a fly-by of the small craft of the GALACTICA's air wing. The BUCKET had been re-armored and updated as much as her Commander, Cmdr. William Adama would allow. The computers were updated, but still relied on what Earthers or the Tau'ri referred to as the Sneaker Network to get things passed on to the next computer. Tim noticed that the GALACTICA looked like a grand old dame in her full regalia. Inside some of the extra space not used since the days of the Cylon War had been converted into quarters and training areas for the additional squadrons and the Colonial Marine Corps Expeditionary Unit now assigned to her.

In the Observation Gallery the Senior Officers of the Ship, Colonial Fleet Admiralty and Colonial Government Officials along with priests and the press watched the proceedings. Major Artemis Eloshia, a Priestess of Athena and Colonial Fleet Chaplain gave a blessing and then stepped away from the podium. Colonial Fleet Public Relations Officer Lieutenant Aaron Doral then asked for Commander William Adama to come forward to give his speech.

Adama took his place behind the podium. At first he laid out his prepared speech, but instead of reading from what he had written he cleared his throat and began to speak, "Over forty years ago I first stepped foot on the deck of the Port Hangar Bay and stepped into my life aboard the GALACTICA. I was a Rook fresh from Viper School and found myself assigned to be the pilot for Junior Lieutenant Coker Fasjovik and his Raptor. The Commander of the GALACTICA at the time always assigned the rookie pilots to Raptors and under an experienced Electronic Countermeasures Officer. My ECO was Coker. Back then we weren't fighting for the Gods and the Colonies. We were fighting for the right of Humanity to live."

"The Cylon War is long over, yet we must not forget the reasons why so many sacrificed so much in the cause of freedom. The cost of wearing the uniform can be high..."after looking at crowd, _"_ but sometimes it's too high. You know, when we fought the Cylons, we did it to save ourselves from extinction. But we never answered the question, why? Why are we as a people worth saving? We still commit murder because of greed, spite, jealousy. And we still visit all of our sins upon our children. We refuse to accept the responsibility for anything that we've done. Like we did with the Cylons. We decided to play Gods, create life. When that life turned against us, we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that it really wasn't our fault, not really. You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you've created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore."

"Today we have again given life, a new life to a grand old lady who like many gave much to pay the price we've paid to ensure we live and have averted extinction. What we need to do is like the new life we've given GALACTICA we need to ensure that we don't continue to hide from that which we've done or else we won't have anywhere to hide. We need to ensure we have earned our right to exist." After saying the last part the Commander returned to his seat as his old friend and Executive Officer Colonial Tigh said to him as he sat down, "You are full of surprises, aren't you?"

Tim listened to Adama's speech as he waited for his turn to land. The Commander had been good to his word and now Lieutenant Simpson was stationed on the GALACTICA as a Ground Support Viper Pilot. He had flown in the ceremony and now was waiting to land so he could take part in the reception and dance afterward. "Kage, Apollo what did you think of the Old Man's speech?" came Lee's voice over the wireless.

"Apollo, Kage he's quite the speaker," said Tim in reply shortly before the LSO gave him clearance to land. Like when the GALACTICA was a Battlestar all landings were hands on approach and Kage called the ball. Kage over the last couple of years got good at landing in Battlestar and Marinestar Flight Pod Landing Decks.

EARTH SGC

In the years since SG-13 was inserted into Colonial Society Earth had found out where the Ancients' Lost City was. An expedition was sent through the gate to the planet where it resided. The distance required eight entries into the address to get the Stargate to reach the other stargate. The city known as Atlantis was on a distant planet in the Pegasus Dwarf Galaxy. The Weir Expedition had scientists from each nation that was a member of the Tau'ri Confederation, the 5th Rifle Regiment of Tau'ri Confederation Marines, a Shore Detachment of the Tau'ri Confederation Navy and a group of administrative personnel draw from the Confederation's civil service and some members of the Diplomatic Corps.

Confederation Councilor Elizabeth Weir led the expedition, Colonial Marshal Sumner commanded the Fifth Marine Rifle Regiment, Lieutenant Commander John Sheppard commanded the Atlantis Shore Detachment of the Confederation Navy. Meredith Rodney McKay was the expedition's Chief Science Officer, Carson Beckett was the expedition's Chief Medical Officer.

The Expedition arrived on Atlantis the day the Cylons struck the Colonies.

COLONIAL MARINESTAR GALACTICA

Commander Adama had gone to his quarters after the rechristening ceremony. He was relaxing at the desk in the corner that served as his office reading a book and drinking a couple fingers of Ambrosia in a cut crystal "Old Fashion" or a roughly 6 to 10 oz capacity drinking glass. He just finished turning a page in the story he was reading when the growler phone on the wall beside his desk rang. "Commander, here," he listened as Lt. Gaeta filled him in on an alert about an ongoing Cylon attack across the Colonies. "I'll be in the CIC shortly. Get Colonel Tight there now and someone get Starbuck out of the brig."

Adama placed his book face down on the desk. Then he grabbed his uniform jacket, put it on and as he walked he fastened the double breasted jacket. He ran from his quarters to the Combat Information Center in record time. As he entered in the port-side entrance he yelled, "What do we have?"

After being appraised of the situation in the Colonies Adama picks up the handset on the side of the Tactical Plot Table. He clears his throat and speaks on ship wide, "This is the Commander. Moments ago, this ship received word of a Cylon attack against our homeworlds is under way. We do not know the size or the disposition or the strength of the enemy forces, but all indications point to a massive assault against Colonial defenses. Admiral Nagala has taken personal command of the Fleet aboard the Battlestar Atlantia following the complete destruction of Picon Fleet Headquarters in the first wave of the attacks. "How? Why?" doesn't really matter now. What does matter is that as of this moment, we are at war. You've trained for this. You're ready for this. Stand to your duties, trust your fellow shipmates, and we'll all get through this. Further updates as we get them. Thank you."

Then he turns to Colonel Tigh you had finally taken his station in the CIC, "XO, where is Dipper and his squadron?"

Tigh looked at the LSO's board and replied, "They and SECONDUS along with Boomer and Helo are escorting Colonial Heavy 789 back to Caprica as we speak sir!"

INTERPLANETARY SPACE IN ROUTE TO CAPRICA FROM THE GALACTICA

Major Jack Spencer looked out his cockpit's canopy at the darkness of space. In the distance the twin worlds of Caprica and Gemenon orbited their common bray point. The rechristening of the GALACTICA had been in the orbit of the only satellite of the two worlds, cracked planetoid. "DIPPER, GALACTICA be advised we have word that a Cylon attack is underway, do you copy?" came over his helmet's wireless speakers. He began looking around for any signs of Cylon Raiders knowing full well that no one in the Colonies had seen one in over forty years.

"Primus Squadron, Dipper I just got word over GALACTICA's push that a Cylon attack is underway. Keep an eye out for boogies," Dipper said as he continued to scan the skies around him. "Boomer and Helo, Dipper do you have anything on your DRADIS yet?"

On board the Raptor crewed by Lieutenant Junior Grade Sharon "Boomer" Valerii and Lieutenant Karl "Helo" Agathon, LT Agathon looked at his DRADIS screen, "Dipper, Helo nothing… Hold… Wait one… We have two… No three… No four in bound boogies on our eleven o'clock low." He adjusted the screen's controls to clean up the imagery and make what he was seeing clearer. Then the radiation detectors designed to detect the presence of nuclear weapons went crazy, "WE HAVE NUKES ABOARD THE BOOGIES!" he shouted out over the squadron's push.

In his Viper Dipper looked around and after tilting his nose a little to the left and down he saw four gray C shaped fighter coming towards the squadron and its charge. "HELO, DIPPER Copy on the Nukes and I spot them!" Then he turned his bird to dive down on the attacking Raiders. "PRIMUS follow me!" he yelled over the wireless. "Jolly you're on my wing! EVERYONE THESE BIRDS ARE CARRYING NUKES! NONE OF THEM GET TO COLONIAL HEAVY 798 GOT IT! SECONDUS SQUADRON STAY WITH 798, LEE PROTECT HER AT ALL COST!" A chorus of "Rogers" and "Copies" answered him as PRIMUS Squadron dived down on the four attacking Cylon Raiders. Captain Lee Adama call sign APOLLO answered, "AFFIRMATIVE," as VFA-2 took up a protective curtain around the Colonial Transport Ship.

The Cylon Raiders were a few light seconds out from PRIMUS Squadron and COLONIAL HEAVY 798 when they were detected after they had jumped to be closer to their prey. As the four fighters closed in on their Colonial counterparts the lead fighter in the diamond formation scanned the Vipers diving on them. VFA-1 dived into the Cylons thinking they had the machines out numbered.

As soon as DIPPER and his squadron were close enough to get a good weapons lock on the attacking Cylon Raiders the lead Raider's visual sensor oscillated left and right while it scanned the in bound Colonial Vipers and sent out a coded sequence that took effect almost immediately. "What the frak!" Dipper yelled as he noticed his ship's systems went dark. "PRIMUS, DIPPER does anyone read me?" No reply came back. Then he noticed that all the ships in his squadron were diving, but not a single engine was lit and all the canopies were dark. Every Viper in PRIMUS Squadron were diving forward solely on their inertia.

In his cockpit all his instrumentation including DRADIS and Weapons Controls were dead. Dipper tried over and over to reboot his bird and get power back to his systems when he spotted a flash from under the wings of one of the Raiders. Then there were multiple flashes and missiles fired from on board rotary launch systems from the four Buzzards attacking them. "FRAK ME!" Dipper said aloud to only himself as he couldn't transmit out of his Viper. One of the missiles was heading right towards his bird. Moments later it impacted and exploded within the hull of his Viper. The scene was the same for all ten of VFA-1's Vipers.

APOLLO saw what happened to PRIMUS Squadron and shouted over the wireless, "Boomer get your ass back up here with us ASAP!" Then he yelled to the rest of SECONDUS Squadron, "EVERYONE, APOLLO form up on me and COLONIAL HEAVY 798!"

As soon as all the Vipers of PRIMUS SQUADRON faded off of his DRADIS screen Lee heard, "APOLLO, GALACTICA Actual get 798 turned around and headed back here now!" Apollo mad sure that he was on GALACTICA's push and replied, "ROGER ACTUAL." Then he switched to his squadron's frequency and said, "SECONDUS, APOLLO, GALACTICA Actual wants us and 798 to RTB! We're returning to the Barn! Stay frosty and keep it tight! Don't let any of those buzzards get close enough to shoot at 798; do I make myself clear?"


	3. Chapter 3

VALKYRIE

CHAPTER THREE

BY D. L. HEMMINGWAY

All citations and acknowledgments are in Chapter One.

COLONIAL MARINESTAR GALACTICA DAY OF CYLON ATTACK

Commander Adama stood at the tactical plot table studying the disposition of the Fleet and the results of the last reports on the attacks. Colonel Tigh comes into the CIC fastening his jacket as he approaches the plot. "This is a joke. The fleet's playing a joke on you. You've just had an extension to your career and they've holding a drill to check your reaction time, that's all..."

"You heard my message to the crew over the one m c, right?" Adama said to Tigh as the XO came up to the plot then he handed the Colonel the dispatch from Fleet Headquarters on Picon. "The orbital anchorage there has been destroyed." Tigh read the report and his face showed his shock and deep concern over the course of events. "Colonel we need to find a rally point for all Colonial ships still able to jump before we lose the entire fleet. I am going to jump to Ragnar Anchorage and try to reform the fleet there."

As Adama looked over the plot table Petty Officer Second Class Anastasia Dualla came up to the Commander with another report. Adama read it and said, "Admiral Nagala and the fleet he gathered near Virgon have been destroyed. His flagship the ATLANTIA either jumped blindly or was destroyed by nuclear anti-ship missiles. The Raptor that escaped the Battle of Virgon with this information just landed with us in the Starboard Flight Pod." He laid down the missive on the table knowing full well what the message implied.

COL. Tigh picked up the message then looked at his long time friend and commander seriously, "You know what this means? It means you are the senior most officer left alive in the Fleet Bill!" Adama nodded his understanding and gravely picked up the handset again. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath while clearing and organizing his thoughts.

"Petty Officer Dualla put me on ship wide and send this to the Fleet, 'This is Commander William Adama with the destruction of Admiral Nagala's Fleet at Virgon I am assuming command of the Fleet. All surviving Fleet assets are to jump to Ragnar Anchorage. Any ships with working jump drives are to make emergency jumps to Ragnar whether they're civilian or military.' Send that in text to the rest of the fleet both military and civilian Dee."

After Adama said that message he looked at LT Gaeta and said, "Plot a jump to Ragnar!" Then to the LSO Captain Aaron Kelly, "Bring our birds in Aaron have them return to base!" He picked up the handset again and on ship wide intercom he said, "This is the Commander make ready for FTL Jump. We will be jumping on my mark."

GALACTICA'S AIR SPACE OUT TO 100000 KILOMETERS

In his VIPER VI Captain Timothy "KAGE" Simpson listened as the LSO ordered all birds to return to the barn. "OK Devildogs this is Devildog One RTB, I say again RTB on my lead!" He this pointed his nose to the starboard flight deck and led VMFA-342 in landing on the GALACTICA.

Not far behind Kage and his squadron Captain Leland "APOLLO" Adama led VFA-2, COLONIAL HEAVY 798, and the Raptor piloted by Junior Lieutenant Sharon Valerii back toward the GALACTICA. APOLLO kept a wary eye toward the black as he led his group back to land on their home. He lost for of his ten VIPERS in two different ambushes by hunter-killer pairs of the Cylon's new Raiders. These new birds were Cylons themselves as near as he could tell and he had gun camera footage to prove it. That and seeing the new President and Vice President safely back to the GALACTICA were his priority missions for the moment.

"SECONDUS, APOLLO you heard the LSO everyone back to the Barn. We don't lose anymore birds today! You all get that, right?" Apollo said over his squadron's frequency which even COLONIAL HEAVY 798 was running on after the word of the destruction of Caprica had reached them. Caprica City had been destroyed by a fifty megaton warhead and since there were no replies from any of the rest of the cabinet the Secretary of Defense had been sworn in as President and Laura Roslin who had been assigned to accompany the SecDef to the rechristening of the GALACTICA into a MARINESTAR had been sworn in as Vice President.

The squadrons of GALACTICA's air wing made their way into the open maws of the Port and Starboard flight pods making combat landings with COLONIAL HEAVY 798, rechristened COLONIAL ONE docked with the GALACTICA in the Starboard Flight Pod. All the VIPERs and RAPTORs which had been protecting the GALACTICA had been cleared from the flight decks of each pod in record time. The last birds landing just as the pods were being retracted as part of making ready for FTL jump.

GALACTICA'S CIC

CMDR Adama yelled out, "MARK!" as he heard that the last VIPERs and RAPTORs were aboard and stowed in their respective hangar bays and that COLONIAL ONE was docked in the Starboard Flight Pod on the flight deck with the nearest gantry locked to COLONIAL ONE's port-side passenger hatch. LT Gaeta pushed the jump button at the FTL navigation station immediately after Adama yelled out the word, "Mark."

SPACE AROUND THE GALACTICA

In space there wasn't the enveloping bubble like the MAJESTIC Jump Drive nor was there the swirling vortex of the standard Milky Way Hyperspace window. No there was a giant bluish white light that filled the space where the GALACTICA once floated in space. The GALACTICA looked as if it had stretched at first then suddenly shrank back to normal just as it popped through a man-made wormhole.

RAGNAR LARGEST PLANET IN THE CYRANNUS CLUSTER ORBITING THE HELIOS GAMMA AND DELTA STAR SYSTEMS

The large gas giant Ragnar was at its outermost point in its orbit around the binary system of Helios Gamma and Helios Delta. At this point in its orbit it was the farthest spinward body in the Cyrannus Cluster. High above the eye of its massive storm bright flaring light like a miniature blue-white star flashed into existence and faded in the blink of an eye. In place of the short lived star now floated the MARINESTAR GALACTICA in a geosynchronous orbit over the storm.

The GALACTICA though it had to fend off several attempts by Cylon Raider hunter-killer pairs had managed to come through its latest battle unscathed. This was mostly due to the tactics of KAGE and STARBUCK and their respective squadrons in defending their home ship. Now the old warhorse was poised to descend down into the storm and dock with RAGNAR ANCHORAGE. In the CIC standing next to the plot table CMDR Adama and COL Tigh looked up at the DRADIS monitors that hung over the plot station. "Good work Gaeta, congratulations on a superb feat of astrogation. Helm steer down into the channel of the eye of the storm!" Adama said as he watched the icon for the GALACTICA slowly turn into the storm in the atmosphere of the largest gas giant in the CYRANNUS System.

Outside the ship turned and slowly entered the massive maw of the storm's eye. It effectively crept through the tunnel of hydrogen, methane and other gases into the depths of the storm towards one of the most secure and secret of the Colonial Navy's Depots. In a matter of an hour and a half the massive ship made its way to the space station that the Fleet had established as a Weapons Depot and a Supply Station after they discovered that the natural radiation of Ragnar had a detrimental affect on Cylon systems yet was harmless to humans.

RAGNAR ANCHORAGE, RAGNAR GAS GIANT

CAPT Timothy Simpson led the team into the station to see what supplies they could requisition to round out GALATICA's magazines and supply bunkers. Along with him were Port Flight Pod Deck Chief, Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol, VFA-3's Squadron Commander CAPT Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Gunnery Sergeant Erin Mathias the Senior NCO of GALATICA's Ship's Security Detachment and a number of pilots, deck hands and Marines. Since both KAGE and STARBUCK earned their promotions to Captain in the battle around GALACTICA prior to its jump to Ragnar with KAGE losing his Squadron Commander first Kage was the OIC (Officer in Charge) of the weapons and supply detail. Starbuck in turn was his 2IC (Second in Charge.)

Once on board the Anchorage the detail was met by Master Chief Petty Officer Waylen Spruence and his team of caretakers. "Man am I glade to see you Captains," Master Chief Spruence said as he greeted Simpson and Thrace, "We have a situation here. We found an intruder lurking in one of the ammunition bunkers. He said he was just trying to steal some munitions to sell on the black market on Tauron, but that seemed fishy. Now he looks like he's coming down with something. He's all feverish and is sweating profusely. He's getting more and more incoherent as he sits in our small brig."

RAGNAR ANCHORAGE BRIG TWENTY MINUTES LATER

Capt. Simpson looked at the man in the cell. He was rather sickly as he stared back at Kage. "Captain Simpson I presume," said the man wearing a tropical print shirt under a forest green vest like photo journalists used to wear back on Earth and slate gray tactical pants similar to those found worn by operators from Private Military or Private Security companies back home.

"How do you know my name sir?" Kage asked of the man who had short almost military cut dark blond hair and bluish gray-green eyes. The man was sitting on a small three foot wide metal bunk in a six by nine foot cell that had a sink-toilet combination at the rear of the cage. He pulled himself up with some effort and struggled bar by bar to get to the cell door and face Kage directly eye to eye.

"I know a lot about you and the Tau'ri, Kage," the man said as he looked Simpson in the eyes and continued to speak as Kara Thrace listened in behind Kage. "Simpson, Timothy Samuel Colonel United State Air Force, Colonel Tau'ri Confederation Marine Corps, Captain Colonial Marine Corps 510-77-5678 and Colonial Service Number MC56-345-C5679. I got it right didn't I?" the man said his look showing he had read Kage's face correctly. "We Cylons tried to infiltrate Earth's defenses, but your computer systems are different and our infiltration software keeps getting defeated by your anti-mal-ware software. Also your ships have finally laid a trap for ours and you have a weapon that kills both biological-cybernetic and mechanical Cylon models. Too many of our Raiders have died being blasted by whatever it is your primary weapon is. We've postponed going after your Earth for now."

Then the man looked over at Thrace, "Don't worry Kara you and Tim here will lead the last of the Colonials to Earth, but that world is not the home of the Thirteenth. That planet is a burned out rock. They were the original ones like me. I don't know what they look like, but they're the reason we stopped the original war when we did. The Ones though told us you were going to come after us and finish what you parents began so when the PEGASUS sent that stealth ship across the Armistice Line the Ones convinced the rest of the Collective to attack the Colonies. Then we began finding non-Colonial human worlds all over the pace spinward and coreward of here."

Kara looked at the man and then at Kage, "Tim, what's he frakking taking about? He's got to be delusional from whatever is making him sick." Kage looked at her and gestured for her to listen. Then he turned his attention back to the man in the cell.

"You're not delusional are you?" Kage looked the man in the eyes and saw that the man didn't have the usual detachment one saw in someone who suffered from breaks in reality. "You're not a human form Replicator either are you?" He saw that the man smile and nod both times.

"No I'm not delusional. I'm just one with the stream. I sense the data of the stream and what all it tells me. I can see visions and Kara and you will lead the survivors back to your world Kage, but not without a long struggling journey. We'll be hounding you all the way because we can't let the Colonials tell the rest of humanity what happened out here. Your people will return and hunt us down to punish us for murdering our makers and the children of God."

Kage had been long enough in the Colonies to know the history of the Cylons and that of the First Cylon War. What peaked his curiosity was the statement about murdering the makers. "What do you mean murdering the makers? And who are you?" He looked at the man and saw a light go on in the man's eyes as he looked back at Kage.

"I am Two or as you will come to know me in the months and days to come Leoben Conoy. There were once twelve models of cybernetic human form Cylons. The First Five and their children. All that are left are the Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, Sixes and Eights. Don't ask me what happened to the Sevens or who the First Five were that's been blocked for some reason and even the Ones tell us they can't recall that data." The man tried to reach through the cell to grab Kage by the throat saying, "I can at least keep the Colonials from having accurate information on how to get to Earth!" Kage jumped back nearly knocking Starbuck over in the process, but he avoided Leoben's grasp.

Then a Marine shot Leoben with a taser and it spikes delivered enough of an electrical jolt to temporarily short circuit Leoben's synapses. The human form Cylon fell to the cell floor spasming then went still staring at the ceiling. Kage belted out, "Get some heavy duty restraints like the ones used on the Toasters and let's get this skin job back to the GALACTICA now!"

Minutes later a squad of Marines led by Sergeant First Class Artemis Hadrian. After stunning the Cylon for a second time the Marines secured him in the restraints that used to be used when retraining a Cylon War era Centurion. Kage watched as the Marines used a device that on Earth would have been called a man-catcher only unlike the medieval device this one went completely around Leoben's neck as other manacles went around his wrists and attached by short lengths of truly heavy duty chain. Hobbles went around his ankles and like the manacles these were made of a heavy duty alloy.

As Kage got the prisoner transferred back to GALACTICA's brig Starbuck took over along with CPO Tyrol the loading of ordnance and provisions onto the GALACTICA and into its holds and magazines. Being not undermanned made the resupply operation easier and safer. After the ship was loaded and the crew of RAGNAR ANCHORAGE had been evacuated aboard the MARINESTAR Kage had the crewmen and Marines stand down for now. It seems the Commander's last order to the Fleet bore fruit. Now the senior commanders of all the ships were meeting in one of the Ward Rooms of the GALACTICA to discuss their next moves.

The GALACTICA herself had not come out of the first day's battle unscathed. Kara Thrace's Third Squadron had fought a defensive battle around the Bucket and despite their heroic efforts a Raider managed to fire a nuclear tipped anti-ship missile that struck the port upper forward portion of the Port Flight Pod. Eighty Eight crewmen and women died saving their ship and home from destruction putting out fires that threatened to ignite the fuel bunkers in that pod. Out of Starbuck and Apollo's squadrons there were eight more deaths. Starbuck lost three and Apollo lost five. Kage took the fewest losses as the Devildogs lost only two pilots.


End file.
